Venice Film Festival: From ‘Joker 2’ to ‘Maria,’ Here Are the Movies to Get Excited About

Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars are getting ready to descend on the Venice Film Festival this week, from George Clooney and Angelina Jolie to Lady Gaga and Brad Pitt.

But while the allure of A-listers on those picturesque docks is a welcome return to form after last year’s lower-wattage edition amid the strikes, the spotlight that matters most will be on their films. Along with Cannes, Venice — which runs from Aug. 28 through Sept. 7 — is one of the most glamorous launching pads for awards season. The films that do well on the Lido will be dominating the conversation until the Oscars in March.

In this year's lineup, there’s both big Hollywood fare (“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” and “Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 2” to “Wolfs”) and a vast array of intriguing films from auteurs around the world. At festivals, the best thing is to keep an open mind and see as much as possible — you never know what might hit. In the meantime, though, here are some films to get excited about at Venice.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” (Sept. 4)

No matter which side of the “Joker” discourse you were on five years ago, the fact that all involved would bring the sequel back to Venice to play in competition is promising. “Joker: Folie à Deux” doesn’t need the festival buzz, after all. The first film made over $1 billion and was nominated for 11 Oscars. Venice chief Alberto Barbera told Deadline that it’s completely different from the first, a dystopian musical that is “one of the most daring, brave and creative films in recent American cinema” and “confirms Todd Phillips as one of the most creative directors working at the moment.” It’ll be in theaters Oct. 4.

“Maria” (Aug. 29)

Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín is not to be ignored when he makes a film about a famous woman with a tragic narrative (see: “Spencer,” “Jackie”). This time he’s teamed with screenwriter Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) and Jolie to bring opera singer Maria Callas back to life in “Maria.” The soprano was a tabloid fixture, perhaps most famous for her affair with Aristotle Onassis, who would end up leaving her for another of Larraín’s tragic women: Jacqueline Kennedy. Callas died in 1977, at age 53, but remains one of classical music’s bestselling artists. “Maria” is playing in competition and seeking distribution.

“The Room Next Door” (Sept. 2)

Pedro Almodóvar’s English-language debut, with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton starring. We barely even need a description to get excited about that, which is probably good because details are vague. He’s said that it’s about an imperfect mother and a resentful daughter who are estranged because of a “profound misunderstanding.” In addition to tackling subjects like war, death and friendship, Almodóvar said, “it also talks about the pleasure of waking up to birds bringing a new day at a house built on a natural reserve in New England.” It’ll also make a stop at the New York Film Festival before a December release.

“Babygirl” (Aug. 30)

Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn made the wildly fun “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” so we’re especially curious what “Babygirl” holds. The erotic thriller stars Nicole Kidman (who 25 years ago came to Venice with “Eyes Wide Shut”) as a powerful CEO who begins an affair with a younger intern played by Harris Dickinson (“Triangle of Sadness,” “The Iron Claw”). Antonio Banderas also co-stars. A24 plans a December theatrical release.

“The Brutalist” (Sept. 1)

This 3 1/2-hour drama from filmmaker Brady Corbet follows architect László Toth (Adrien Brody) and his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) on a decades-long journey as they flee Europe following World War II and attempt to set up a life in America. There, Toth meets industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce), who commissions him to design a modernist monument, changing their lives for better and worse. Corbet (“Vox Lux”) is not always going to be a filmmaker for everyone, but he’s never not interesting. Focus Features and Universal are distributing, but the movie does not yet have a release date.

“Youth (Homecoming)” (Sept. 6)

There are quite a few innovative offerings in the nonfiction space: Errol Morris’ “Separated,” about the Trump administration’s border policy; Asif Kapadia’s future-looking “2073”; “Pavements,” Alex Ross Perry’s hybrid doc about the Stephen Malkmus band; and Andres Veiel's “Riefenstahl.” But only one made it to the main competition: Wang Bing’s “Youth (Homecoming),” the conclusion to his verité documentary trilogy in which he followed migrant workers in Zhili, China’s textile factories across five years. It's seeking distribution.

“April” (Sept. 5)

Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili’s sophomore film is about Nina, an OB-GYN working in rural Georgia who also performs abortions, despite the laws of the country. When a newborn dies in her care, an investigation fuels rumors about her morality and professionalism. Three years after the abortion drama “Happening” snagged the top prize at Venice, the buzz is that this will be one of the breakouts. Kulumbegashvili’s debut, “Beginning,” about the bombing of a Jehovah’s Witnesses church, made waves on the festival circuit in 2020. “April,” which is seeking a US distributor, is also set to play at TIFF and the New York Film Festival.

“The Order” (Aug. 31)

Jude Law produced and stars in this 1980s-set crime thriller about a white supremacist group who his FBI agent character suspects is tied to a series of crimes in the Pacific Northwest. Nicholas Hoult plays the group's charismatic leader in the Justin Kurzel-directed film, to be released in theaters in December.

“Harvest” (Sept. 3)

“Attenberg” and “Chevalier” filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari returns to the main competition with “Harvest,” an adaptation of the Jim Crace novel set in a medieval English village where the locals use three newcomers as scapegoats for economic turmoil. It's apparently the reason star Caleb Landry Jones did his “Dogman” press with a Scottish accent last year. Mubi has distribution rights in several European territories, but no dates or US plans have been announced.

BONUS: “Disclaimer” (Aug. 29)

This is not a film, but this series coming to AppleTV+ on Oct. 11 is from Alfonso Cuarón, who wrote and directed the seven-episode psychological thriller starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. Blanchett plays a journalist who discovers she's a character in a novel that reveals her dark secret.

The second season of “Pachinko,” opening Friday, delicately captures the plight of ethnic Koreans brought to Japan during colonial rule and their descendants, exploring themes of home and identity through several generations.

The award-winning series, based on the New York Times bestselling novel, returns to Apple TV+ with eight episodes that follow four generations of an immigrant Korean family living in Japan since before World War II. The star-studded cast includes Oscar-winning actor Youn Yuh-jung and Korean actor Lee Minho.

Many ethnic Koreans were brought to Japan, often forcibly, to work in mines and factories during the country’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of Korea. They were treated as second-class citizens and faced discrimination, which the series portrays.

Youn, who plays the older version of protagonist Sunja, said she was largely unfamiliar with the situation of ethnic Koreans in Japan — known as Zainichi Koreans — before she spoke with actor Soji Arai, who plays Mozasu, the son of her character. Arai was born into an ethnic Korean family in Japan.

“It broke my heart and I cried inside because I felt so bad after hearing about their stories,” Youn told The Associated Press.

The second season continues Sunja’s story as she struggles to feed her sons Noa and Mozasu during the war.

In the series, ethnic Koreans face discrimination generation after generation. In one episode, a Japanese worker at a wartime Nagasaki factory refers to his Korean colleagues as “roaches” that “keep multiplying.”

Decades later, Sunja's grandson Solomon nearly explodes at a Japanese store clerk whom he thinks is showing discrimination over his Korean heritage. He senses that discrimination will follow him even after attaining academic and professional credentials.

The series is in Japanese, Korean and English with subtitles and is based on Korean-American author Min Jin Lee's novel, titled after a Japanese game played in arcades where ethnic Koreans often worked in jobs typically shunned by Japanese.

Youn said she portrayed Sunja as “intimidated, scared and feeling small,” believing discrimination is her fault due to endless exposure to it. Youn added that she has felt similarly in her own life, having an “inferiority complex” over her struggles with the English language.

Around half a million ethnic Koreans sill live in Japan. Although many have become naturalized Japanese citizens, about half a million have not and are officially considered foreigners.

Executive producer and showrunner Soo Hugh said she was “nervous” about how the show would be received among Zainichi Koreans, but that she was happy to learn that it had resonated “really emotionally."

“This is their story,” she told the AP, adding that she had to unlearn previous history education to understand “from the point of view of the people on the ground,” including those in Nagasaki.

When Youn was asked if she was concerned about playing a role in a series touching on sensitive parts of East Asian history, Youn said no. “We are talking about the past,” she said. “I am not a politician, so it doesn’t matter to me.”

Hugh said the series gradually transitions from the family’s day-to-day survival to answering big questions about their shifting identities: “What does it mean to live a good life ... knowing that Japan is now my home?”

These are familiar questions to Hugh, who is Korean American.

“So many Korean immigrants come to America and think, ’We’ll make a better life, but I’m not going to die in America because Korea is my home. ... You know, a year goes by, then a year, another year, and then another year,” Hugh said.

“It must feel really sad to know that you’re not going to die where you want to die. And that’s, I think, something so many of our characters confront in this show,” she said.

Youn said that people will always carry their identity with them despite circumstances. “I see many people who try their best to erase (their Korean identity),” she said. “I really don’t like that. There is no need to do that.”

“Pachinko” season two is available on Apple TV+ platforms.

Venice Film Festival: From ‘Joker 2’ to ‘Maria,’ Here Are the Movies to Get Excited About